dmccombe7

I've found many so called "sound engineers" are just Joe Bloggs off the street has been given the job to monitor the desk in a venue and rather than have any formal training he's had to pick it up himself. The good FOH sound is usually from guys that have had roper training. Back in my earlier years the sound engineers were just mates that said they would operate the desk for us and we toured with that too and it all seemed to be ok at the time. Would have to say at larger venues like the OP mentioned i would expect the sound engineers to be properly trained in their job. I've been to gigs where i was level with bass bins and it was mostly all i could hear. Dave

Sorry for laughing but that just about sums up the British climate in a nutshell. Totally unpredictable. Dave

I've read quite a few over past couple of years while on holiday including Guy's, Glenn Hughes, Gene Simmons, Ozzy and Bob Daisley's to read this year's holiday in May. Like the various F1 driver autobiography's too. David Coultard's was interesting if you like F1 that is. Dave

I don't need to worry about world cup gigs. Never gonna happen here. Maybe this tho

Icehouse were on a TOTP 80's edition few weeks ago with Guy Pratt on bass. I recorded it just for that reason. If you haven't read Guys book yet you should. Quite an insight into music world of those days. Dave

I'd never pay that for any band. Not even my fav bands. Not a Stones fan, never have been. Liked a few of their earlier songs but that's about it. I have a max limit maybe equivalent to $100 but it would need to be a good seat and a band i don't get a chance to see very often. Maybe Rush but few bands left i would pay that for. Genesis reforming i might or if Gilmour and Waters put a version of Floyd on tour i might but average i would reckon circa $50-$70 dollars for a decent band Better still go see a good tribute band or a good covers band. Dave

Tick in the box mentality. Also means that proper fans don't get a chance to see their fav bands. Dave

I'm of the opinion that i pay a lot of money for concert tickets and i want to watch the full show including any support act. Its disrespectful to sit and gab thru any band performance. Been to some local gigs where a crowd of women behind me sat and gossiped all night. They had obviously been drinking but you could hardly hear the band during their quiet songs. If i had been in authority at the venue i would have put them out. Few people did actually complain to staff who did nothing. Dave

Odd stage set up and picture isn't bright enough to understand what's going on. Looks like 2 Aguilar rigs with one each side of the drums. So what's happening and what kind of material is being played. Looks like a great setting i have to admit. Dave

I tried a Behringer amp head thru a Bugera 410 cab. Looked wuite like the Markbass cab ported at bottom. Amp had a nice clean sound. Not muddy and not too clinical either. All in all the Bugera cab sounded good and even coped with the octaver on the amp when i tried it. At the price they are not a bad amp and cab set up. Dave

No idea but drummer looks a wee tad stoned.

Band i was in last year a Blues / Funk based rock band the drummer used a digital metronome at rehearsals. Can't say i noticed it at gigs tho. In a 40 yr playing span that's the only one i've known. Dave

If i have no choice i'll use whatever is available and get the best sound i can. I might moan a little but no point making a big issue out of it. All else fails i'll DI to PA. Dave

That's neat and hidden behind the headstock looks far better than an add on at the top of the head stock. Dave

I took lessons for 12-18mths when i first started and altho i'm not a sight reader by any means i have found it useful when learning songs. I use it more as a tool for learning rather than a requirement and i've played most styles of music over the years. Yes i could get by without it but it helps me, makes life easier for me anyway. With regards hand technique i started off correctly but have taken shortcuts that i found made playing some songs easier for me. Yep i'm lazy. I now have regrets that i didn't take it further tho as i am now catching up with chord patterns altho that's mainly for my own personal satisfaction. Anything you can learn is another way to improve in my book. Dave

My rack tuner is not in line with my signal and taken from the amp tuner OUT. I do also use a TC Polytune sometimes in line but it has a true by-pass when off and also no effect on my sound. As long as a tuner is used it doesn't really matter what type in my opinion. Dave

Depends on the gig but i'm happy with just plug and play as long as i have my tuner (pedal or rack mounted). Normally like a touch of compressor but can do without if required. Dave

I checked the earth with my multimeter and it was perfect from bridge to jack socket. I even put tin foil under the scratchplate and attached to the metal control plate to reduce static noise when i rubbed my hand on the plastic plate. I added an additional earth under the bridge and soldered a larger earth on the back of the pots and altho it helped a little its always been like that. Its not horrendous buzz with nickel un-coated but with elixirs it seemed to be an odd thing going on there. I'm happy with the EXL170's rather than Elixirs which i only put on certain basses because they don't leave the house now. Dave

I usually keep the new box and date it with whatever bass i use them on. I usually wait until i notice the strings have reached a point that i can hear a significant loss of tone. Just seems to be around the 2month mark but that would be an average. My Precison deluxe has gone 3mths on same strings but i don't use it as often. Dave

Wow a set of strings every weekend gig / gigs. Mine last about 2 months before i start to notice a major deterioration and that's me playing weekly rehearsals or gigs and playing a minimum of 1-2 hrs a day at home. I'm not an energetic bassist and therefore don't hand sweat much. At the very least i would change at a month if i thought i needed that little bit of extra twang for a special gig or even an audition but typically 2mths for me. Dave

I took lessons when i started 40+ yrs ago and was told to use the 1234 finger technique. I always struggled at lower end of the fretboard and over the years i found i now use both techniques 124 at lower end of board ie 1-4th frets and as i move up the board from the 5th i use 1234 technique. I don't recall ever making a conscious decision to do that more it just seemed right and i also have varying thumb technique on back of the neck. Sometimes i will keep my thumb rooted on back of the neck and other times i've seen me wrap my thumb round the edge of the neck. I think it usually depends on style of music i'm playing. Rock or metal playing straight 8's on same note i sometimes wrap round edge of the neck.(my lazy technique ) If its something quite complicated or fast moving i tend to have my thumb anchored on the back of the neck. Over last few years i've tried to keep my wrist straight as much as possible on my fretting hand as i tended to have it quite angled at times causing some aches and pains. I tend to play fingerstyle using mainly 1st & 2nd fingers and occasionally adding my thumb, 3rd or 4th depending on what i'm doing. All in all i'd say do what's comfortable but try and keep to Good technique as much as possible if you can. Dave

Good point about the ball end being earthed so that now confuses me even more I think it might have been my Jazz bass i tried them on.

My Warwick Thumb and Overwater custom 6 fretless have Elixir strings on them but i find the tension is a little tight more so on the Warwick. I guess i could get used to that However i've also noticed that i pick up noise on some basses as if i have a dodgy earth system on the bass. I've put that down to the coating on them. If i put non coated on its perfect. If i touch the bridge the buzz stops. Don't quite understand why tho. Dave